USDA: Good Markets, Less Cattle

Corbitt Wall with USDA gives the weekly Feeder and Stocker Cattle Summary for the week ending April 18.

Feeder cattle and calves sold mostly steady to $2 lower, with the exception of the Southeast. They traded mostly steady to $2 higher. This was primarily due to local demand. Record prices on all feeder and stocker cattle has leveled off in the last couple of weeks and the fed cattle market is starting to struggle.

The more aggressive stocker orders has now been filled so there won’t be as much of a push on those from here on out. Receipts are declining rapidly, which could hold the market prices fairly constant.

The highly sought after six-weight stocker steers were selling as much as $10 lower and $15 lower in some areas. However, as Wall points out, many thought those steers were selling for about $30 too high anyway.

Receipts are falling fast and we’re just out of cattle to sell. Many auctions are going to their summer schedules, which is a few weeks earlier than usual.

During the month of March, the nationwide auction receipts were about 4% lower than a year ago. This week’s Cattle on Feed report should give more information on this front.